These Aren’t The Same Dallas Mavericks…

These Aren’t The Same Dallas Mavericks…

you are currently looking at the three best defensive prospects of the last 15 years Victor Wimanyama Anthony Davis and Cooper Flag WBY is obviously Wemi but the recent NBA draft lottery means we are about to see two of the best defensive talents ever on the same team We are about to see these two guys playing next to each other KJ Lewis puts it on Cooper flag And this alone should have the NBA scared of what the 2026 Dallas Mavericks are going to look like Because even after their decision to trade Luca Donuch which none of us will ever understand the Mavericks now have a chance to pair a 6’8 Swiss Army knife who has gotten comparisons to the likes of Andre Kirileno Sha Marian and Scotty Pippen Yes Scotty Pippen with one of the best defenders ever a shot blocking machine who has consistently been one of the best defenders every year of his career And Nico Harrison is going to get the best chance he ever could have hoped for to prove himself right when he said that defense wins championships because I can’t think of a better defensive pairing to build your team around And for a team that looked lost following the Luca trade this is not going to be the same Dallas Mavericks we saw in the second half of last year This is going to be a team that opposition players will fear because not only do the Mavs have those two monsters but the combination of PJ Washington Nargi Marshall and Max Christy on the perimeter plus Derek Lively and Daniel Gaffford as two more rim protectors you can question the offense with no Kyrie to start the year and it could look rough But who needs offense when the other team can’t score at all i mean think about what OKC have done with Cet and Isaiah Hartenstein or Cleveland with Allen and Mobley Boston when they had their double big lineups Flag is more of a forward than those guys But when you have multiple elite rim protectors on the floor at once it almost guarantees you will be a great defensive team Just look at Flag’s instincts on a play like this where he’s initially in position to help on the roller The pass gets thrown to the corner So he quickly shifts his hips and then blocks the three-point shooter Or this time where it’s the opposite with him helping over to the corner shooter thinking that’s where the pass is going but when it gets rifled into the dunker spot he again turns his head and is there to block the shot Or how about him guarding 30 ft away from the basket this time getting in a stance and blocking the pull-up jumper from a guard And I think this is the best attribute Flag has on both ends of the floor Yes he can clearly jump with his ability to dunk on players or block shots but it’s that fluidity which is so important in the modern NBA When you have to switch onto players 30 ft from the basket or guard countless pick and rolls having that ability to move laterally is a gamecher on both ends And Flag pairs this with great defensive instincts great physical gifts and overall just a willingness to dominate on the defensive end of the floor And then of course you have Anthony Davis who despite being 7 foot and one of the best shot blockers in the league he can get out on the perimeter and move his feet against anyone Just watch him here off the Sabonis handoff switching onto D Rozan He does a great job initially at contesting the D Rozan step back jumper and then with Sabonis cleaning up the offensive board He comes over and then swats him at the rim Or this time against Jiren Jackson Jr who tries to use his quickness driving to the middle of the floor But look at AD’s anticipation to strip the ball away from him just as he’s going up for the hook Defense is also such a mindset And the reality is when you’re on a team with two elite defenders and when you know your team will be centered around defense that mindset will be shifted towards defending every single possession And obviously it’d be great if players had that mindset regardless of who was on their team or what their identity was but let’s be honest we all know that’s not the case for this team However whoever is on that floor alongside these two guys they’re going to have to compete And if they do that this will be a scary defensive team And in general Anthony Davis has become underrated because of this trade Obviously I’m not going to tell you he’s better than Luca but I think it’s time to ignore that part because he had no control over getting traded But if we just focus on AD as a player over the last 10 years from his third year in the league until now he’s averaged 25 1/2 points 11 rebounds and over three and a half stocks per game being a rare combination of unstoppable offensively and an all-time great defensively This is an all-time great player And whilst he might not be in his prime anymore he is still an allNBA player And most importantly he’s a playoff player as well The only time he’s ever been outplayed in the playoffs consistently was against the three-time MVP Aside from that he’s consistently one of the best playoff performers of this era And speaking of playoffs it’s easy to forget that this time last year Derek Lively was in the midst of recording back-to back double doubles as a 20-year-old in a final series against one of the best defenses we have seen in recent memory That’s the kind of level of play Dive was at in his rookie season And it’s since been reported that he might have grown another 2 in to 7’3 That is currently just a rumor But if you thought he was a serious rim protector and lob threat already adding 2 in would make things even more ridiculous And one thing about Derek Lively last season that people didn’t talk about is despite plateauing a little bit as a scorer and maybe defensively you saw the jump in assists during his first year You saw he could make plays out of the short pick and roll but he didn’t get much opportunity to do so Last year he more than doubled his assist numbers consistently recognizing players under the rim or in the corner using the gravity of the likes of Klay Thompson or Kyrie Irving when they would draw defenders and then dicing up the defense as a result And this just gives the Mavs more flexibility with what they can do I mean with the way the modern NBA is I wouldn’t be shocked to see lineups involving AD Lively and Cooper Flag But it’s important in those lineups that you have guys who can make the right plays to keep the ball moving And then of course you will need the supreme shooting of Kyrie Irving and then maybe Klay Thompson as well who gets clowned a lot at this stage in his career but he’s not a bad player He is still an elite shooter and more importantly he gets treated like an elite shooter which creates a ton of space for other players around him Now there is one unknown about this Maverick’s team and it’s the question mark that will determine if they’re a scary defensive team that could maybe make the playoffs or the playin or if they could be a legitimate contender in the Western Conference And that is the health of Kyrie Irving Because if Cooper Flag is as advertised and you get the best versions of Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving plus the depth which Dallas have and may continue to add to in the off season I’m not saying they’ll be better than OKC But that’s a legitimate force in the West But as of now the question mark is over how Kyrie will return from the ACL injury which he suffered late in the season But if he is healthy it’s exciting to see what he could do as the number one offensive option Because I believe the last few years in Dallas have been the most consistent best version of Kyrie Irving we have ever seen And now with another player next to him in Anthony Davis and Cooper Flag if you get that version of Kyrie plus the best versions of those guys this could be a seriously good

Mr Flagg
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